★★★★★

Not only was I bogged down by other books I had to read, but there are only so many hours in a day and adding another story wasn't the smartest thing I could do. However, I knew if I missed this one, I'd live to regret it. After reading it, I'm 100% sure of that fact. All I can think about now is getting my hands on book two, Torn.

Wanna know how you can tell if an author is truly badass? It's when you can hate the heroine and still give the book five stars!!

At the age of 16, Helena Willow found out some hard truths about her family. Her life was not entirely her own and at the age of 21, she stood the possibility of being taken. The Willows and the Scafonis had a long-standing tradition - the eldest Scafoni son was allowed to pick out his very own virgin Willow girl to share with his brothers. She was to be theirs for one year each and then returned. Planning ahead, Helena decided to take herself out of the running. She was one of a quadruplet and thought her non-virgin status and the fact that she looked nothing like her blond haired sisters would make her undesirable.

Seriously girl, have you learned nothing in your young life? Everyone knows that the girl who sticks out is the chosen one. Might as well have had a spotlight on you and angels singing to announce your presence.

"You're my only ally in this house?...Then what will I do when my enemies strike?"

Sebastian's eyes caught a glimpse of Helena and there was no turning back. He knew, despite her lack of purity, that she was the one he needed. But what was once a relationship built on hate and duty soon became something neither of them could have ever predicted.

"Because no matter what, Sebastian, you are a Scafoni and I am a Willow. We aren't friends. We're enemies."

I found myself often annoyed by Helena's feeble attempts to assert some form of power over her situation and I laughed at inappropriate moments because of the rhetoric that was prevalent in her perspective. She was hard to empathize with and I happened to enjoy the many ways in which Sebastian tormented her. I'm the last person to use the phrase "she asked for it", however, she kinda did. At least her continued idiocy was something that Sebastian found attractive. He loved her fire, her sass, and her refusal to admit defeat. I think I did too.

... with her, I can't ever get enough. I can't ever get close enough.

Taken was dark, mysterious, and absolutely captivating. You'll find that while the author has gifted us with a lot of information to explain certain events, the further you delve into this story, the more questions you'll have. I'm still uncertain of Sebastian's motivations, the inner workings of his familial relationships, and the meaning of the sick games some of these characters are playing. With an ending that truly had me hanging on the proverbial cliff, Torn can't be released soon enough.